


Close Your Eyes

by EtchJetty



Series: Etch's Sketches - A One-Shot Collection [17]
Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: Gen, References to the Beatles, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-12-01 21:44:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20908469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtchJetty/pseuds/EtchJetty
Summary: Written for Cauldron Cup Season Four, this snip explores a gender-swapped Alec and Taylor during the early days of the Undersiders.





	Close Your Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Cauldron Cup Season Four. I lost this round to Dusky, but I still had a lot of fun!
> 
> The prompt:  
Rule-63: Loving (Regent & Skitter)

_"...And then while I'm away, I'll write home every day, and I'll send all my…"_

"Brielle, can you shut that shit off?" said Ada, from her place lazing on the couch. Brielle, who had been listening peacefully to her radio, suddenly stood up and reached towards the off button. Then she stopped.

"Ada, what happened to 'don't use your power on your teammates'?" she growled, grabbing her hand away from the power button. "We've talked about this."

"_Mon cher,_ that rule only applies when you're not blasting crap from the loudest speaker my sensitive French ears can handle," replied Ada.

"It's the Beatles," said Brielle, exasperatedly.

"It was loud. And I've had enough of beetles for a day, thank you very much," said Ada, gesturing to their newest recruit. Taylor had been watching the entire exchange silently from the sideline, and he startled at being referenced directly.

Brielle didn't acknowledge Taylor beyond a glance. She sighed, muttered something about "classics," picked up her radio and walked out of the room, the sound fading as she closed the door to her room. Ada turned to face Taylor.

"What?" he said.

"No comment about little Valefar lite? No scathing remark about master powers? Or are you too shy?"

Taylor didn't move, but Ada noticed a few bugs swarm in from the window to rest on his back. "I'm not shy," he said. "Just a little uncomfortable."

"Ah, so you _are_ frightened of the scary master on the team you joined."

More bugs came in through the window to land on Taylor, some settling in his hair. "I'm not afraid," he said. "Just wondering if you use mind control whenever you're bored."

"It's not really mind control. It's more like a suggestion from a friend. Or a stage magician with a very nice ticking pocketwatch. Come, Taylor, sit down." Ada didn't use her power that time, really!

Taylor joined her on the couch.

"How do you control your bugs?" asked Ada.

Taylor actually _blushed_. Adorable. "I'd rather not go into the details," he said.

"Oh, you can't leave it at that!"

The blush deepened. "It's kind of embarrassing," he began, bugs flying in a steady stream through the window. As they landed on him, he seemed to become more relaxed. "But I… oh god, this is kind of embarrassing, y'know?"

"Yes," said Ada.

"Well, the bugs… I don't control them with my mind. I don't exactly see through their senses, or control them like a third arm. Er. A million third arms. I…" Here he paused, and took a breath. "All the bugs love me, so they'll do what I say."

That sounded familiar to Ada. "And you communicate with your mind? Like Waterwoman from the comics?"

"Pretty much instantly. But I order them to do it, and they do it because they love me."

Things were coming together. "Which is why you wanted them on your body during this uncomfortable conversation," realized Ada. "Because you feel better when you are loved. Physically, I mean." Hah. Ada didn't need Liam to solve every mystery for her.

"You ever hear the song Fireflies by Eve Young?_ I'd get ten thousand hugs, from ten thousand lightning bugs._ That's me. That's my everyday.”

“And it’s nice?”

Taylor smiled. “It's something I've never felt from anyone," he said. "Anyone except..." His voice drifted.

Ada frowned. "Except who?" she asked, putting a little more of her power into her voice.

"Emmett," said Taylor, and then he shut his lips tight, hand slapped over them. “Yrrjrwgrpwrwnm.”

“Love, I didn’t catch that,” said Ada.

Taylor glared at her and removed his hands from his mouth. “You did. You just used your power to make me mention Emmett. That’s personal stuff, I didn’t want anything personal to spill into this...” Taylor’s eyes widened. “Are you still making me talk? Is your power still on right now?”

“My power only works if you let it. Are you sure you don’t want to keep talking?”

“I’m pretty _fucking_ sure. Turn it off. Turn it off or I call in my friends.” Taylor was trembling, even with the bugs flying around his head.

“It’s off,” Ada lied. “It’s been off. All of this is you. You have to believe me.”

After a moment of looking back between Ada and the bugs flying over his head, Taylor sighed and leaned deeper into the couch. “You’re right. I’m being paranoid. I’ve just… had bad experiences trusting people. Especially after, well, I guess you know his name now. After Emmett.”

“_Mon amie_, I understand completely. I had a very rough childhood. I didn’t grow up in the states, you know?” said Ada. “Foreign country. It’s all very different up there.”

“That’s, wow,” said Taylor. “I didn’t know that about you at all.”

“I know. Poor Ada Lovelace. Don’t you feel sorry for me, Taylor?”

“I do,” said Taylor, leaning closer. “I really do feel sorry for you.”

“Mm.” Ada could feel her power finishing working on Taylor. “I bet you really, really do.”

Taylor shuddered. “This might be a stupid thing to say, Ada, but… I think I might…”

“Might what?” Ada said, looking absently at her nails and not at the cloud of bugs hovering around Taylor.

“Be in love with you,” said Taylor.

“Do tell,” said Ada, and then she stopped. “Actually, repeat that?”

“I’m… I’m in love with you, Ada. I know it seems sudden, but I can’t explain, I'm... drawn to you.”

“Oh boy.”

“Please don’t be uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable. I’ve clearly pushed my abilities too hard here. I’m as surprised they worked this fast as you are.”

“I’m sorry?”

Ada extended her lower lip and blew upwards, catching a loose curl with the air. It fell away from her forehead. “Forget that I said that. Taylor, if I were to ask you to do anything for me, would you?”

Taylor didn’t hesitate. “Anything.”

“Fuh… alright. This is a bit of an odd request. I want you to cover yourself in as many bugs as you possibly can. Without harming yourself.”

“Yes,” Taylor said, and did so. Flies, bees, gnats, all flew in through the window, while millipedes, ants, and other creepy crawlies inched their way to the couch. Taylor closed his eyes as they covered his body, leaving not a single square inch of skin visible.

Ada scooted over to a nearby chair and watched in detached horror.

There was a single beat of utter silence while Taylor mediated under the weight of thousands of bugs, aside from the faint music coming from Brielle’s room. Then, as suddenly as the bugs came, they flew in every direction away from Taylor, exploding out like a bomb. It only took a second before the bugs all flew in the direction of Ada, the cloud flying wildly through the loft before stopping nearly a foot from her body.

Ada didn’t scream, but it was damn close.

Taylor walked through the bugs, which parted for him as if he was Moses. Ada tried to make herself smaller.

“You used your power on me. Even when I asked you to turn it off.”

“It was an accident! I’m sure you have experience with accidental power use, _non_?”

The circumference of the clear space between Ada and the bugs shrank slightly.

“That wasn’t fucking accidental. Are you even French, Ada?” asked Taylor, his voice shaking.

“Canadian. Which, _au fait_, totally counts.”

Taylor turned away, his voice trembling with rage. “You used your power… to make me fall in love with you.”

Ada blinked, even though she knew Taylor wouldn’t be able to see it. “Well, yes. That’s how my power works. The more people trust and obsess over me, the more they see me as the one person they should listen to above all else, the more likely they are to listen to my suggestions. And it wears off the instant someone who I’m targeting loves someone else more than me.”

Taylor whipped around to face Ada. “Then why did it wear off for me? Who do I love more than I loved you?”

“I thought it was obvious,” said Ada. “The beetles.”

From two rooms over, Brielle turned her speaker to max volume. The sound of her music drifted into the room, subtly overpowering the buzzing of Taylor’s insects.

“..._All my lovin', all my lovin', all my lovin', I will send to you!_”

**Author's Note:**

> Index:
> 
> mon cher - my dear
> 
> yrrjrwgrpwrwnm - you just used your power on me
> 
> mon amie - my friend
> 
> non - no
> 
> au fait- by the way


End file.
